The attacker's cracked lips slowly curled into a grin.
His thumb remained pointed downward.
"...It's over."
Aldric's eyes narrowed. Something about that gesture was wrong.
Not directed at him.
Not directed at Sebastian.
Not toward Zekai.
It was aimed beyond the shattered wall.
Outside.
...
Far beyond the interrogation chamber—
Perched atop the remains of a collapsed support beam, a lone figure lay perfectly still.
His breathing was steady. His heartbeat almost nonexistent.
Only one emerald eye remained open.
The other was hidden behind a black targeting lens.
His long rifle rested against his shoulder, its barrel unlike any ordinary firearm.
Instead of a magazine...
Twenty crystalline pendants hung from its side.
Some were empty.
Others glowed faintly from within.
One contained a tiny wolf.
Another held a miniature raven.
One pendant contained nothing but swirling darkness.
The pendant holding the swirling darkness trembled almost imperceptibly.
A faint whisper leaked from inside the crystal.
"Run..."
A pause.
"Your path is going to end soon."
The shooter didn't even look at it.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"I still have far too many cards hidden up my sleeve."
He adjusted the rifle against his shoulder.
"My path..."
His remaining emerald eye narrowed.
"...was chosen long before yours."
The whisper fell silent.
Even the imprisoned relics no longer spoke.
The shooter calmly adjusted the scope. His gaze settled upon Aldric Marune.
"...Target confirmed."
His voice carried no emotion. A faint smile crossed his lips.
"...Relic Round."
"...Release."
Click.
The rifle whispered.
There was no deafening gunshot. Only the sound of compressed air escaping.
The bullet left the barrel.
It wasn't made of metal.
It resembled a transparent crystal wrapped in layers of ancient symbols.
It floated rather than flew. Passing silently through the broken wall...
Straight toward Chamber Twelve.
---
Inside the interrogation room—
Aldric still held the masked fanatic suspended by his throat.
His expression never changed.
Then—
Something entered his perception.
His pupils shifted slightly.
"..."
The unseen protector surrounding him reacted instantly.
A colossal shadow emerged behind him.
Its distorted arm stretched toward the incoming projectile.
The invisible protector had intercepted every attack until now.
Fire.
Shockwaves.
Grave Arts.
Everything.
The colossal shadow reacted instantly.
Its massive arm reached toward the drifting crystal round.
The first grasp closed around empty air.
The relic slipped between its fingers as though it possessed no physical existence.
The protector immediately adapted.
Space folded.
The corridor between Aldric and the projectile twisted inward, compressing into impossible angles. Distance stretched, reversed, and collapsed upon itself, attempting to redirect the relic into another path.
The crystal bullet ignored every alteration.
It drifted forward without changing speed.
Without changing direction.
As though the distorted space simply didn't exist.
The protector unleashed its full authority.
Invisible pressure crushed toward the relic from every direction.
Reality itself bent around it.
The bullet passed through every layer untouched.
For the first time since its birth...
The unseen guardian failed.
Aldric's pupils contracted by the smallest fraction.
"...Impossible."
The bullet slipped through the protector and struck Aldric squarely in the chest.
Crack.
Not flesh.
Reality.
Golden fractures spread across Aldric's body.
Light burst from every crack.
Sebastian's eyes widened.
"...Captain?"
Aldric looked down at his chest.
"...A sealing relic..."
His voice was quieter than a whisper.
"So that's your plan..."
Golden fractures raced across his body like veins of sunlight.
The invisible guardian reached toward him one final time.
Its enormous hand tried to pull him away from the spreading seal.
The relic answered first.
Thin chains of crystalline light erupted from the pendant, wrapping around Aldric's existence itself rather than his body.
His movements slowed.
Not because he lacked strength.
Because the laws surrounding him were being rewritten.
Aldric quietly observed the phenomenon.
"So..."
"...it seals the target before reality has a chance to resist."
His voice remained perfectly calm.
No panic.
No desperation.
His eyes calmly traced the ancient symbols flowing across the relic.
"I'm looking forward to understanding how you were made."
His body continued shrinking.
"...Until then..."
A faint breath escaped him.
"...don't assume you've won."
The golden light intensified.
His body rapidly shrank. Normal size.
Half. Palm-sized. Finger-sized.
Until—
Only a tiny glowing figure remained.
The crystal bullet unfolded into an empty pendant.
Click.
The miniature Aldric vanished inside.
The pendant snapped shut.
At the same instant—
The gigantic unseen protector dissolved into black mist.
It didn't scream. It simply...
Disappeared.
Outside the chamber—
The shooter calmly caught the returning pendant between two fingers.
He glanced inside.
The tiny Aldric stood silently within the crystal prison.
"The hunt was worth the trip."
He clipped the pendant onto the chain hanging from his belt.
"...One Devil."
"...Collected."
His fingers calmly counted the remaining empty pendants.
"Nineteen."
One occupied.
Nineteen waiting.
He reached into his coat and removed another crystal round.
Ancient symbols slowly ignited beneath its transparent surface.
Click.
The relic slid silently into the rifle.
No wasted movement.
No unnecessary haste.
His rifle was already prepared before anyone inside the headquarters realized the attack had succeeded.
He rested the weapon across his shoulder.
Without another glance toward the battlefield...
He stepped backward.
---
Deep within BSA Headquarters—
The Operations Command Center.
One monitor suddenly flashed crimson.
BEEP.
An operator froze.
"...Captain Marune's resonance..."
Silence.
His fingers trembled across the console.
"...is gone."
Nobody answered.
Dozens of officers stared at the tactical display.
The symbol representing Aldric Marune simply disappeared.
Not weakened.
Not moving.
Gone.
The supervisor slowly removed his glasses.
"...Impossible."
For several long seconds—
Nobody in the command center spoke.
The silence itself felt heavier than any alarm.
Then every monitor erupted with warnings simultaneously.
---
Silence consumed Chamber Twelve.
The fanatic stared for a heartbeat.
Then laughter exploded from beneath his broken mask.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Finally!"
"The rat catcher is gone!"
He dropped back onto the floor, rubbing the bruises around his neck.
"Now..."
"No more interruptions."
Sebastian forced himself upright. Pain exploded throughout his body.
His vision blurred.
Still...
His eyes locked onto the shattered wall.
Recognition flooded his face.
"...No..."
"...It can't be..."
Fragments of old investigation reports resurfaced inside his mind.
Missing investigators.
Entire strike teams disappearing without leaving corpses.
Witnesses describing victims...
"...shrinking."
His breathing stopped.
"The Relic Collector..."
"So the rumors were true..."
The fanatic laughed.
"You know him?"
Sebastian ignored him.
Instead, he looked toward Zekai's unconscious body.
Blood still pooled beneath him.
His voice cracked.
"Zekai..."
"...we don't let that touch you."
His breathing became ragged.
"That rifle..."
"...doesn't kill."
"It seals."
"Anything struck by those relic rounds..."
"...is imprisoned forever."
The fanatic slowly raised his molten sword.
White-hot flames wrapped around the blade.
"No more heroes. No more captains."
"This time..."
"You die."
The molten sword descended.
Sebastian's voice tore through the shattered chamber.
"ZEKAI!!"
His fingers dug into the broken floor. But his exhausted body refused to obey.
"...No..."
The blazing blade entered the shadow cast across Zekai's unconscious body.
Silence.
Then—
A single crimson eye opened.
Everything stopped.
...
End of chapter 36 - Relic